Constance Hauman - Falling into Now: personal songs that take you from despair to enlightenment

Falling into Now
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Artist: Constance Hauman
Genre: Alternative
Label: Isotopia Records

Treading a thin line between credibility and disappointment, the history of living opera singers throwing caution to the wind and stepping into the alternative rock/pop area is awash with mistakes.

There are successes such as Renée Fleming, whose 2010 album Dark Hope was graced with robust versions of songs from the likes of Band of Horses, Muse ,Jefferson Airplane, Arcade Fire and Mars Volta.

And then you have Constance Hauman, one of America's most versatile lyric coloratura sopranos, who has with Falling into Now written a cycle of personal songs that take us from despair to some level of enlightenment.

Songs such as Dark Angel, Sorry Eyes, Broken Pear, Burn the House Down, Safety, Angels and Autumn Leaves trace a narrative line that is strengthened by music that effortlessly takes its cues from both Cocteau Twins and Michael Nyman.

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Tony Clayton-Lea

Tony Clayton-Lea

Tony Clayton-Lea is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in popular culture